There was a bonfire in front of the wooden house by the lake. That poor bear killed by the FA organization became their dinner. The surviving mercenaries and armed forces sat by the fire along with the remaining assassins. They were merrily eating the bear and drinking vodka. There were men singing and dancing. No one was grieving over their sacrificed comrades.

When they had not yet received their money, the dead comrades were still in their thoughts along with their widows and children. But now that they had the money, who cares? With more loss to the battle, the less they had to split.

The Grey and Russo sisters were huddled up in the wooden house. They did not dare to exit.. Under intoxication, the men would not be above sinning despite already being paid. Who could’ve guaranteed that those vile men weren’t plotting anything involving them? No one could guarantee anything under the influence of alcohol.

“Do you think he’ll come back for us?” Rosa broke the silence.

Stella answered, “Isn’t it obvious? He’ll never come back here.”

“Why?” Theresa continued, “He was willing to save us with three million USD. It’s more than what most can earn in their lives. If he doesn’t come back, why bother paying the money at all?”

“Yeah. I really thought he wouldn’t but he actually did,” said Giovanna.

“He sells military weapons for a living. That sum is nothing to him. I think he’s just guilty that he abandoned us.” Stella continued, “But I do suspect that the commander’s disappearance has a lot to do with him. Don’t you all find it weird?”

“I too have my suspicions but hadn’t I mentioned before? To be able to take out so many of them, he must have men hidden within the forest. But that really doesn’t seem so,” replied Giovanna.

“Enough, let’s stop discussing this.” Theresa said, “Let’s deal with the situation at hand.”

“What do you mean?” Stella looked at Theresa.

“You’re the smartest out of us four. You must know what I’m referring to.” Theresa went on. “We swore to him. According to ancient knight traditions, we now serve under him. Loyalty, courage and sacrifice are a knight’s virtue. Are we really going to offer him our loyalty, courage and sacrifice from now on?”

“Theresa, he threatened us!” Stella yelled. “We are the knights of the Knight Hospitaller, not his! He’s not even Catholic! How are we supposed to serve him?”

“But we knelt and swore in the name of our God. According to our traditions, we are his knights. Going against the pledge makes us no different from the non-believers,” exclaimed Theresa.

Stella frowned at her words. “Theresa, are you saying this because he did that filthy act on your body? He humiliated your body yet you took a liking to him, is that it?”

Theresa was set off like a loose cannon. “What on earth are you saying? Come on, say it to my face! I’ll shove those words right back down your throat!”

“Enough! Shut up!” Giovanna was incredibly irritated. “How about this, we raise our hands to vote. Those who agree to be his knight, put your hands up. Those who don’t, keep your hands down.”

“I say yes to this! If we betray the virtues of a knight, how can we be considered as one?” Theresa raised her hand.

Stella didn’t.

Giovanna wanted to raise her hand. But as soon as she noticed Stella, she followed suit. She was Stella’s older sister and she would have to stand on the same side. She and Stella represented the glory of the Grey family.

Rosa wasn’t planning to raise her hand. But as soon as she noticed Theresa raising hers, she quickly followed suit. She and Theresa were proud representatives of the Russo family.

The scene was ridiculous. Two pairs of twins, one side agreed while the other didn’t.

“Hmph!” Stella scoffed. “Theresa, let’s place a bet. Xia Lei will never come back here. I bet he’s already on a plane back to China. And you, the Russo daughters are still stuck on arguing the virtues and traditions of a knight. How can you not find any wrong in your choice? This is such a joke.”

“What if he does come back?” Theresa mocked. “Are you going to stick to your pledge and serve him as his knight?”

“If he does come, I’ll do that. I’ll be his knight.” Stella continued, “But he doesn’t, you will need to steal the sacred relic from him. Are you sure you want to proceed with this bet?”

“Yeah!” Theresa agreed without hesitation.

Seeing that, Rosa couldn’t help but worry. “Idiot, have you considered the consequences? How are you going to steal it from him? That’s close to impossible!”

Theresa bit her lip. “I’ll figure out some way. Plus, I’m not losing yet!”

“Right, you’ll find ‘a way’.” Stella continued to mock her. “Being his knight, I’m sure you’ll have lots of opportunities to be in close contact with him, you might even go to bed with him.”

“You...” Theresa immediately jumped on her.

The two ladies started to pull at each other while the other two tried to calm them down. Chaos erupted in the wooden house.

At this very moment, they could hear someone speaking outside the door. Some laughter accompanied it.

“Whoa!” A man exclaimed exaggeratedly. “My friends! How can you not invite me to a bonfire? That’s not fair!”

The four ladies in the wooden house fell silent. They were all too accustomed to this voice. Xia Lei was here.

“Haha!” The mercenary’s leader laughed. “Mister Xia, where were you at? What happened? Did you know how worried we were? We searched the entire fifty-kilometre radius for you! We’re close to getting on the train to search for you at the Kremlin”

Xia Lei’s voice rang once again. “The FA organization had a secret troupe. They killed off Mister Arthur and his team. I went to track them down but they managed to escape.”

“Is that true?” The leader gasped, shock evident in his tone.

“Of course it’s real. Must I swear by my words?” said Xia Lei.

“Mister Xia, we were abandoned by the Gods. We don’t care if Arthur is dead or alive. We just care about you. As long as you’re alive, we’re happy! Hahaha!”

“Mister Xia, you’re a generous man. Being able to work with you is a pleasure,” said the leader of the armed force.

Xia Lei replied, “Money is just a small matter. I’m just terribly sad over the loss of so many brothers. Mister Arthur was a good friend, I’m sad now that he’s gone.”

“Mister Xia, there’s no need to be sad. Come, let’s toast. Alcohol will drown your sorrows away.”

“Mister Xia, let me fill your cup!”

“Mister Xia, please have a slab of bear meat!”

“Oh my friends, how could you give me the bear’s penis?”

“Hahaha...”

In the wooden house, the four ladies frowned.

“That bastard actually came back.” Giovanna continued, “I mentioned this earlier. There’s no way he was the one who wiped out all thirty elites and Arthur!”

Displeasure was plastered all over Stella’s face.

“Ha! Stella, don’t forget our promise!” exclaimed Theresa.

Stella only rolled her eyes at Theresa.

“Mister Xia, please have more! This is premium vodka!” Someone urged.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“Thank you, but I already had too much. I must go check on my people,” declined Xia Lei.

“Mister Xia, there’s no need to worry. We didn’t lay a single finger on those four girls,” said someone else.

Approaching footsteps were heard.

The four ladies looked to the door in unison. Inexplicably, though they knew it was Xia Lei outside the door, they were very nervous.

Before all of this happened, they were enemies. Now, the line between them was blurry, it gave way to the start of something more ambiguous.

The door opened to reveal Xia Lei. He only paused for a brief moment before he entered the building, shutting the door in the process.

The four ladies had their eyes on him, but no one greeted him.

Xia Lei stripped off his coat. “My knights, are you not going to come over and get my coat?”

“We’re knights, not maids,” hissed Stella.

Theresa hesitated but decided to approach him anyway. She took his coat and hung it over a metal nail that was hammered to the back of the door.

Xia Lei gave her a smile. “Thank you.”

Theresa only nodded in response, she remained silent.

A long, difficult journey awaits to tame these four monsters, but Xia Lei was in no rush. He plopped his rear onto a chair. “Mister Arthur is dead, I’m terribly heartbroken by it.”

Stella interrupted him. “I don’t feel a single hint of grief from you. You were even having fun and drinks with those vile men just now.”

Xia Lei was unfazed. “I was just being courteous. My sadness is not something I show easily.”

Stella was rendered speechless.

“Alright, let’s talk about some business.” Xia Lei proceeded to say, “Now that Mister Arthur is dead, I have no idea what your plans are. When are you all going to take action?”

Giovanna answered, “Arthur used that computer to contact the headquarters but it got confiscated by the mercenaries. We can’t contact the headquarters like this.”

“No one else from the Knight Hospitaller headquarters reached out to you?”

The four shook their heads in unison.

“How about you get the computer back to us? We can contact the headquarters like that and they’ll send someone over to get us,” suggested Stella.

“Hahaha...” Xia Lei couldn’t hold his laughter. “I’m not about to leave this place on the Knight Hospitaller’s transport. I’m the only one left and I don’t trust you all. Let’s just use my way to get home.”

“Are you planning to ski your way home?” sneered Stella.

Xia Lei dug out his satellite phone. He dialled a number and the receiver immediately picked up. He then conversed in Russian. “Hello, Mister Ivankov. One million USD, can you fly your plane to us again? Mm-hmm... Alright, call me again after you’ve decided on a landing point.”

The call ended.

The four ladies glanced at Xia Lei weirdly.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Xia Lei shrugged. “Is no one going to serve me some water? I want hot water.”